
Top 10 tips for taking Type 1 diabetes back to school
The start of the school year is just around the corner and it is critical to have as much information as possible to support those impacted with type 1 diabetes (T1D) returning to the classroom.
It requires paperwork, special planning and many conversations with teachers, school nurses and other students about T1D and how it’s managed at school.
JDRF has put together helpful materials and information to ease this transition; they can be found at typeonenation.org/BacktoSchool, and includes information about 504 Plans, building a School Diabetes Emergency kit, the JDRF School Advisory Toolkit and more. Additional materials can be found in the JDRF Back to School Resource Library.
Here are 10 tips for taking T1D to school:
1. Contact your endocrinology care team: Make sure the endocrinology team has filled out the required paperwork (DMMP- diabetes medical management plan and letter of type 1 diabetes diagnosis) – this will ensure the school qualifies the student for additional accommodations to be put into a 504 plan or added into the IEP.
2. Set up a meeting with school personnel: Contact the school before end of year or the beginning of August to discuss your child’s medical needs, and ask for a meeting to be attended by all the teachers, school aides, and bus drivers. This is also a good time to talk about specific needs such as the food served in the lunchroom, when recess will take place (ideally after lunch) and field trips; and include who is going to do the education on training everyone on the fundamentals of T1D.
3. Create a 504 Plan: In addition to the DMMP,
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